


The Origin Story

by 1alleycat1 (Coolguy1997)



Series: Villainy Pays [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bank Robbery, Gen, Mutant Powers, Villains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 15:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15464607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coolguy1997/pseuds/1alleycat1
Summary: The story begins to unfurl as Damien must become a villain to save the one he loves.





	1. Chapter 1

Damien is in a rough spot. He has always been in a rough spot. He had been in rough spots ever since he robbed his first bank four years ago. 23 and already wanted as a dangerous criminal deviant. Deviant being what they called those with special abilities. What had Damien’s back against the wall, both mentally and physically was the uncomfortable pressing inside of him. It always felt awkward the first days as it sloshed around his guts. Luckily he was always long gone everytime it happened. Mr. Wayne wasn’t a harsh man or actually mean. At times when they met at the bar, he could make him laugh at a corny joke or two. The job paid well- a cool 2 million every year in a secure bank account. It was easy to transfer into a separate account that he had. Mr. Wayne had to have known that he was doing it, but he didn’t seem to care all that much. Not that Damien would stop even if he did.

Four years ago, Damien was just a sophomore in college. He was just about ready for his winter holiday at home. He was out of state for college and was so ready to hang out and catch up with his friends. He had a bus ticket ready to take him in the morning and he still had to pack. It was really nice that he would have a whole month off of school. As he was making his final checks before bed, he got a call from his mom. “Hey mom. I’m just about to get some sleep. I have a bus to catch in the morning” he said with a cocky lilt in his tone. There was a pause on the other end of the phone. His smile quickly fell with worry. “Damien, I really have to tell you something I can’t do face to face. I have cancer In my ovaries”. The world felt like it ended for Damien as he heard his mom sob on the phone. But, the world was never that kind. He didn’t cry. Instead, he said “Mom, I’m here for you”.

The next day Damien looked awful. His eyes were extremely red and puffy as he slowly dragged his luggage behind him on the way to the cab that would take him to the bus depot. People asked if he was alright as he signed out of his dorm. He ignored them and continued along. He was fine. It was his mom that was not okay. His mom that raised him alone after his dad had walked out on the when he was 10. He got a restless nap on the bus to his hometown. It was a small town where not much happened. He picked up the pace once he got his things. He walked through his neighborhood to see that everything had stayed the same. He was a couple blocks from home when he heard his name. He turned to see one of his childhood friends, Leon Rose run toward him. 

Leon was a great guy. A sporty deviant with acid spit, he could deter fights with his presence alone. In highschool, he was a trackstar. He had the school record for the 400m hurdle and the pole vault. His dad was an alcoholic and his mom passed away when he was born. Leon had the opportunity to stay up late, go out whenever he wanted and he had no discipline for his behaviour. It was easy to see why he had low grades and was usually found in detention. They were able to strike a friendship in first grade and it stuck until now. Damien’s mom would take him in and look after him. She would nag his dad to do the things he needed, whether it be a parent teacher conference, or a haircut.

Seeing Leon run up to him was a big comfort. Leon was still wearing his frilly green apron from the job he was working at the grocery store. He pulled Damien into a big hug and was grinning from ear to ear. “No one told me that I would see you today. How have you been out there in college”. He tried to be cheerful, but he couldn’t. Leon saw it and asked “What’s wrong with you, Damien?”. Damien told him and Leon looked scared. He gripped his shoulder and looked past him to where his house was. “No! Your mom… she’s the only one who ever gave a shit about me. We can’t let her die” he said frantically. Damien agreed with him. There must be something that could be done to save her.

Leon helped him with one of the bags and they made their way over to Damien’s house. His pace was a bit quicker, even with the burden. They rang the bell and waited for her to let them in. Leon was impatient and rang the bell again and again. Damien had to stop him and pull his hand off the bell. When she did open the door, looking very annoyed, Leon jumped on her and begged saying “Please don’t die, Mrs. A! I don’t want to live without you!”. Leon was taking it worse than Damien would have expected. “Leon, stop that now. I don’t want to die either, but its not up to me. Even if I did die, you can’t throw your life away. I didn’t raise you just to break you when I go” she said as she soothingly rubbed his back. Leon’s broad shoulders were trembling and he held her even closer. Damien was also sad but there was no room for him. She saw him and gave him a sad smile.

Eventually, she was able to get Leon calmed down. She told them that last month she had been feeling off for a while and she went to the doctor. She was told that it was ovarian cancer. It was caught early so it wasn’t as serious now. “I don’t know how much it will be okay for. I don’t have the money to pay for the medicine. We had to put the money down for your school”. Damien was about to speak up when she glared at him. “Don’t you dare say it. I raised you for this. You need to get your degree and do great things” she said. Damien nodded and took his bags upstairs. While he was unpacking his clothes, Leon had came into his room and closed the door behind him. He told Damien that his mom told him that the medicine and chemo would come to 105 thousand dollars.

There had to be a way to get the money. Damien was thinking out loud when he looked at his friend fidget on the bed. Damien looked at him and asked what was wrong. “I think I know some people that could give us some money. But, they are kinda bad people”. They were really shady people that had their hands in lots of crime all over town. They were two brothers that were a few years older than them and deviants. The Shaban Brothers were known around town for their shameless and prolific crimes. The police couldn’t handle them and even if the were willing to, they always made sure to cover their tracks. Alan, the older brother, could shift into and control sand. The younger brother, Jesse Shaban, could generate and control electricity. It was known that you shouldn’t mess with them.

Leon had hung out with them when he was younger. He would take packages here and there for them. When Damien’s mom found out she put a stop to that. He still got drinks with them from time to time in a bar he went to. Damien didn’t even need to think about it. “Leon, take me to them right now” he said. Leon nodded and they ran out the door. “Mom, we’re going to go get some drinks in the bar. We’ll be back later”. Leon led him to a seedy bar in a dark corner of the town. When they entered Leon told him to sit by the counter while he looked for them. He sat on the bar stool and waited to get the bartender’s attention. He ordered a bottle of beer and paid for it. After ten minutes, he had finished the bottle and was lazily looking around the bar. There wasn’t many people in there but they all looked like criminals.

Leon came up to him and whispered quietly in his ear. He said “Follow me to the back and don’t say anything to them. I’m going to handle everything”. Damien didn’t like that plan. He loved Leon like a brother, but he was kind of dumb. They went to the back to a metal door. Outside of the door, there were two guards. Leon told them that he was there to talk with Alan. They moved from the door and let them inside. Inside, they saw the two brothers smoking with drinks in their hands and girls in their laps. “Leon’s such a dumbass. Why do you keep hanging out with him when he made his choice already”. Jesse sighed as he saw us come in the door. Alan looked at him frowning before saying “Just because he puts family first, doesn’t mean he can’t be useful to us sometimes. He has done some runs for me without even realizing it. You’re just jealous that he didn’t choose you”. 

Damien had walked into the room and Leon had hung back as he heard what he said. He really looked embarrassed. Damien was going to speak up for his friend when he felt a hand raise the back of his shirt. He was going to turn around before he felt an intense burning on his back. The pain was so intense he threw up and fell down. Leon caught him as he fell. “Sorry. This is your test. Just wait and relax”. Damien was in so much pain that he passed out. When he came to, he was shirtless in a bed that wasn’t his. He reached to his back still tender after healing all the damage the acid did to him. “So, I heard that you need money to save your mom. Tough break” a voice said. He looked to the corner to the room and saw Alan smiling at him. “Leon is dumb as a rock, but he is a good judge of character. I use him sometimes so that he doesn’t know. I also call on him for some interrogations. He vouched for you saying you were amazing and that the both of you needed help” he continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Damien sat up and asked why was he attacked. Alan looked down and to the side for a second before speaking up. “Jesse has a grudge against Leon. Leon chose your mom over Jesse when he stopped hanging out with us. He was so mad and upset. Almost begged him to not leave us behind. When he came in needing our help to save her, he took the chance to punish him. He told him to spit on you. He told us what your power was so he said it wouldn’t be a problem if it was true. He knew doing that would hurt him” he said. Damien was starting to hate Jesse and this was the first interaction he had with him. “I won’t apologize. You need us and not the other way around. I just want to explain the way things are. You can’t work with the people you can’t understand”. Damien could respect that and nodded. He winced as he got to his feet but he was fine. His power was hyper regeneration, and with a simple stretch, he started to feel the tenderness fade away.

He turned around and showed Alan his back. He whistled and said “Well shit. I saw your back when it happened. Hell, I’ve had Leon lick people that we wanted to send a message to. His spit is deadly, and here you are, fine”. Damien wanted to say something to him as he came closer and pressed against where the wound used to be. He remembered the way things were that Alan explained between them. ‘You need us and not the other way around’. Alan gave him his shirt back and said “That was his test now you have to complete mine” as he handed Damien a briefcase. “Take this. Take Leon if you want. I want you to complete a deal on my behalf. When they give you the money, bring it back here”. Damien asked what would happen then. Alan just smiled and said “We need to see if you can do it right first. But let’s say that we have a job that could use three more people”. 

Damien nodded and took the briefcase from Alan. He left the room and was immediately knocked over by a nervous Leon. “C’mon, let me see your back. I just want to see it” he said as he pawed at his back. It took a while and an uncomfortable back rubbing session to get Leon to calm down. Damien told him the situation and he perked up again. He picked up the case from the floor when Alan said “Leon, that’s Damien’s case. Jesse tested you and I’m testing him. I told him he can bring you but he has to do the deal”. Leon nodded his head sadly and passed it off to Damien. He put his shirt on and the two of them were out the door. Outside the bar Jesse was waiting for them with a grin on his face. He was waiting with a large muscled man next to a red sedan. “Guys, this fine gentleman is going to drive you there and back” he said. He walked towards the trunk and said “I normally wouldn’t do this for you but Alan told me that you need to be able to do the job right”.

Jesse opened the trunk and there were a lot of guns inside. Like Alan said, if you can’t get it done, you can’t blame us. He gave us two guns each: one glock and one desert eagle. He also gave us three magazines each. The large man got into the driver’s seat of the car and Jesse closed the trunk. He left without a word and entered the bar. It was already nighttime and the boys got in the backseat. It was a hour-long drive to the deal site. When they got there, the other side had already lined up. There were 8 people and they all had rifles and shotguns. At this point, Damien had realized that they were set up to be overly outmatched, outgunned, and outmanned. He got out of the car with the briefcase and quickly walked up to the driver’s seat window.

The driver rolled down the window. Damien took a deep breath and said “You and Leon wait here for me. If something goes wrong, you need to drive off and escape. After a few hour come back here for me. Leon, you need to promise you will go and come back for me”. Leon put his hand over his heart and promised. Damien thanked them and it was hard for him to walk toward the deal. When he thought about his mom, he was able to find the courage. He went forward in a power walk straight to the middle of the other gang. “Well look what we have here. The Shaban's send this kid to deal business for them”. There were chuckles from the guys around him, but Damien couldn’t hear them. He was solely focused in the moment and the deal. The leader turned to him and said “You know Alan called me and said to make it difficult for you. I don’t give a shit about you or your test. So I will give you an easy time. Give me the case and I give you the money. Then you get lost”. 

Damien shoved the case in his arms. The guys all laughed and the leader gave him a new silver case. He turned around and power walked to the car. He hopped in and told the driver to drive as fast as possible. The car peeled off and they got to the bar in less than 45 minutes. As they entered the bar, both Alan and Jesse looked surprised. Damien gave Alan the case before smiling. “Here you go. I passed the test. What happens next”. He had time to calm down and he was able come up with a cool narrative. Alan smiled and asked what happened. He was about to tell them a clever lie, when Leon spoke up. Damien was scared but it was too late to stop him from being dumb. “Alan, he was so cool. He practically ran at them and threw the case at that leader. Everyone was shaking in fear of him. He snatched the new case and came back” he said confidently.

Everyone looked at him incredulously, even Damien. Jesse face palmed and asked the driver what really happened. “He went alone so we don’t know what was said. He gave the case to the guy and he gave the new case. Then he came walking fast towards us and told us to peel out of there. It was less than 5 minutes” the driver said. Alan looked like he could accept that answer and turned to us. “You exceeded my expectations. Come back next week and I will let you in on a job I was hinting at earlier” he said. Leon and Damien left the bar and immediately made their home. Leon had taken the key and let them in. They were safe for the time being. Damien told him to make sure he hid the guns and ammo well in his room. Leon stuffed them in the waistband of his pants like in the movies. It was cool until Leon started moving around the room and posing. 

The week came and went by very slowly. The boys were careful to be extra considerate and nice around his mom. She appreciated the attention and help around the house, but told them to act normally around her. “I’m not dead yet you know” she would say. On the day that they were to go back, Leon was quite chipper as he got off his shift at the grocery store. Damien had planned to meet him and go straight to the bar from there. They had a shorter walk than if they went from Damien’s house and got there quickly. “What do you think the next job is going to be?” Leon asked. “I don’t know, but it will probably be very dangerous”. Leon turned to look at him. “Your mom took a chance on me and saved my life. I love her for that. I would risk my life for either of you guys” he said so seriously Damien began to blush. Leon smirked and said “Oh, did you finally fall for me? It’s about time- just look at me” as he flexed his arm. Damien punched his arm playfully and walked ahead.


	3. Chapter 3

As they entered the bar they were ushered into the back room. They saw maps and schematics all over the room. There were also pictures of the major bank of the town over, The Wesson Bank. It was obvious what was going on and it scared him. Alan chuckled and said “Yes. We are hitting the bank. Are you in or out?”. Leon volunteered them before Damien could refuse. “Yes, that is what I expected. Jesse explain the plan” he said. Jesse looked pleased with himself as he explained. The bank was not a big chain bank, but still did major investing and had a payday of 8 million. They had received the equipment to crack the safe in the silver case Damien got the week before. They had a driver that could be trusted to get them out at the end of the robbery. What they needed was “2 deviants that could do crowd control”. That was obviously where they came into the equation.

Damien had to ask about the cut. The Shaban Brothers had a 25% cut each. That totalled to 4 million off the table. Leon and Damien were promised 15% each. Doing the math that was 1.2 million for each of them. The rest would be split between the driver and a sixth member that would be going with them. Leon was looking at Damien in order to see what he thought. “So, how much is that. I don’t trust my math. That’s enough for your mom, right?” he said nervously. To assure him, Damien nodded and said that he was in as long as he wouldn’t have to kill anyone in there. Alan stretched his hand and Damien shook it firmly. Leon smiled and reached his hand out his hand to shake as well. Alan shook it as well with a knowing smile. “When are we going to do this?” Damien asked. Jesse laughed and said that they were going to go tomorrow. That was way too soon. “Why do we have to go at your schedule? You passed the tests and we already know Leon”. Jesse frowned at him.

Damien had to remind himself of the golden fact. ‘You need us and not the other way around’. It was so simple but so hard to swallow. Damien really had to think of his mom before he was able to grin and bear it this time. Certainly he was going to regret this. But he would rather regret this than let his mom just die. He called his mom and told her that he and Leon were going with some friends from school to a concert out of town and to not expect them back for a few days. It made her suspicious but she said that he was an adult and could make his own choices without her. Everyone had to sleep over at the bar. Damien had knocked back some rum and cokes as well as some bottles of beer to calm his nerves a bit. Leon was doing a good job helping out with his antics. It was easy to understand why Leon got in the same air mattress with Damien and slept with him with both their clothes on.

The next morning they got up changed into the clothes that were prepared for them. The Shaban Brothers had costumes that made them all look like villains. With the rise of deviants, some were inclined to take advantage of others for their personal gain. These were the various villains that plagued the weak. There were others with strong moral compasses that wanted to uplift their friends and communities. These paragons of virtue were known as heroes. Most of the deviants kept to themselves living normal lives. Deviants were still only 21% of the world’s population after all. It seemed that the plans had been going on for awhile before Damien had met them. He wasn’t inclined to be a villain, but at that point it was already too late to back out of the deal they made.

The driver had a generic burglar outfit. It was the same driver from the deal last week. He was not a deviant so they didn’t spend much time on his outfit. Damien’s outfit was a thin black leather jacket that reached the floor. It was sleeveless with a zipper all the way up to the neck. It was covered in red target circles of varying sizes. It had a hood that had a zipper that went down the middle. Under it all he had a white bodysuit. When the hood was over his face it did look like he was in a marked up body bag. That was probably why his vilain codename was literally “Bodybag”. He thought it was a bit too much in bad taste but he thought the outfit did look cool with the red opera half mask that covered his face above the nose. It would make it hard to learn his identity from any bank footage taken at the very least. 

Leon had a long green haired wig on. He had a half gas mask with the respirators replaced with red containers filled with bullets. He had a yellow rubber bodysuit with one black glove on his right hand. The left hand had a white glove. He had on green boots on his feet that came halfway over his shins. He was wearing black pants that were tucked into his boots. Over his clothes he had a similar jacket to Damien. Leon’s was green and had no zippers. Leon also had in red contact lenses to further obscure his real identity. He looked like a comic book villain, no doubt about it. He was the most excited about his clothes. “Hey what’s my codename going to be, huh? It’s got to be something cool like Toxic Wave, right?” he asked posing and looking in the mirror. Alan chucked and said “Sure. We’ll call you Toxic Wave”. 

The sixth member was a kid that they had plucked off the streets. He was a deviant as well and had dirt, grime and wounds on his body. His costume was simple but cool. He had tight fitting denim overalls and a red hard hat. He has a pickaxe and red work boots. He had a blackface mask that went from his neck to the bridge of his nose. He liked how he looked, or at the very least was pleased that he had some new clothes to wear. The clothes and shoes he had been wearing before were practically falling apart. Jesse had decided that his codename was going to be “Rubbleboy”. The kid asked him what rubble meant and Alan explained it. The boy laughed and said that he liked it.

The Shaban Brothers were dressed up but not in the same way. While the driver was dressed as a stereotypical villain and the boys were dressed as comic villains, they were an animal all their own. Alan was wearing black jeans and yellow sneakers. He had no shirt on. Instead he has an open crème paisley vest with a fedora. He had the same red mask that Damien had. It was certainly a cool and bold choice. In his hands he held a long thin tube filled with sand. He told them to refer to him as “Beachbum”. Jesse was wearing a choker with a lock on it. He had a red polo shirt and white slacks. He had black work boots on with red shades. It was so classy that it was almost crazy. It was clear that they wanted to be real villains and to them we were just like sidekicks and an extra. Jesse was to be called “Thunderclap”.

Now that they were all dressed up, they were ready to go. They climbed in their van and drove over to the bank. It was pretty jovial for a bank robbery in progress. Damien was quiet all the way there, only speaking when spoken to. Even then it was only one or two sentences. “Looks like we have a shy guy over here” Jesse teased. Damien looked at him and said “I’m taking this seriously. I’m not trying to be famous or be a villain. I just want to help my mom”. Things died down in the car after that. Alan took that as a cue to reach under his seat to give everyone their weapons. He gave Leon a revolver and Damien two. The boy pouted when he saw he wasn’t getting one. “They’re fully loaded. Leon has bullets, so he only needs one” he explained. Leon nodded and took the gun and looked at it. He asked how to shoot and reload it. Alan took it back and demonstrated for them. Damien asked about what weapons they would be using and Jesse laughed. “Trust me. We don’t need it”.


	4. Chapter 4

They got there at noon. They made sure they were ready before they walked in. Each of them had two large duffle bags with them. Then as a group they all got out of the van except for the driver. He pulled the van out of there and started driving down the road. Leon asked where the van was going when Alan said “He’ll meet up with us later. First we have to do our job and get to the extraction point. Remember, block the doors and make sure there are no people in the group that interfere”. They walked into the bank lobby and Jesse yelled “Everyone calm down! This is a robbery. Nobody move!”. The patrons of the bank all froze. They stared at them before They started to jeer at them. They yelled at them and a guard was approaching them. Jesse smirked before raising his hands. There was the sound of static coming from his body that the group could hear. He yelled at the top of his lungs as the lights flashed bright before all the lights and electronics exploded. 

The crowd screamed in terror and started running around for cover. The guard reached for a gun, but two were already trained on him. He put his arms up in surrender. “Great job. That was nice, Thunderclap. Rubble Boy, take his gun from him. Toxic Wave, Body Bag handle the area” Alan said as he and Jesse. Damien and the others nodded and set out to work. Rubble Boy took the gun from the guard. He knocked him out with a pistol whip that was pretty impressive. Leon was rounding up all the hostages and making them lay flat on their stomachs with their arms on their heads. Damien took a chair from the waiting area and used it to bar the door so no one would be able to get in through the door. After that, he joined Leon in watching over all the hostages. Alan reached the gate to go downstairs to the safe and found it locked. “Hey, open the gate, will you? We’re just having fun here. Do it and no one gets hurt here”. They said no and crouched in the corner. 

Alan sighed and said “I get it. We’re scary and clearly villains. I wouldn’t want to open up either at first. But there’s a problem. I can get inside the gate anyway. So do you want to let me in nicely or do I have to do it myself. I’ll give you three seconds”. He counted down and no one moved. He sighed again and he shifted into sand that fell on the floor with the clothes he was wearing. Then the sand started to move through the gaps of the gate. The sand reformed itself to reveal a very naked Alan. “Told you I could do it myself”. He told them. They cowered even more in fear. He opened the gate from the inside and let Jesse and Rubble Boy in. “Nice work, Beachbum” Jesse said as Alan got dressed again. Rubble Boy snuck a peek and gave a wolf whistle. They headed down toward the safe room together.

It took ten minutes before five police cars came tearing into the parking lot. They made a tight perimeter around the entrance and soon the phone began to ring. Leon was going to answer it when Damien ran up to beat him there. He picked up the phone in a hurry and pointed Leon back to hostages. He pouted and grumbled, but he went back to them. “Hello, who is this calling The Wesson Bank?” Damien said into the receiver. “This is Johnny Revor, the town hostage negotiator. May I know I am speaking with”. Damien sighed before saying “I am Bodybag, a new villain on the scene. I am representing the two ringleaders here. They are called Beachbum and Thunderclap. We also have Rubbleboy and Toxic Wave with us”. He felt like such a fool and from the response of the negotiator it showed. “Those are the names you went with, huh?” he said after a pause. “Shut up and do your job!” Damien lost his cool for a moment. The man on the other end chuckled softly before continuing.

The negotiator asked what they demanded for the safe return of the hostages. Damien didn’t really think of anything so he just pulled from a movie. “We want a fully fueled helicopter brought to the roof within 2 hours. After that, every 5 minutes you’re late, we will kill a hostage. If you call again without the helicopter, we will kill a hostage. Those are our terms. Please don’t force our hands”. I slammed the receiver down hard to end the call. Leon gave Damien two thumbs up for his performance. Damien released a giant sigh as he slumped a bit in his chair. That was pretty stressful and he was glad it was over. Ten minutes later the phone rang again. Damien looked his friend Leon but he shrugged. “I pray that this is not the police negotiator” he said in a warning tone. “I’m sorry to inform you but it is. We would-” was as far as he got before Damien hung up on him. He got up from the desk and dragged a woman to her feet at gunpoint. Leon looked concerned but didn’t stop him.

Damien led her into the manager’s office. He threw her to the floor and closed the door behind him. He made sure to lower the blinds over the glass looking out to the lobby. He pointed the gun in her face. “Do you want to die here?” he yelled so that they could all hear him. She begged for her life with tears streaming down her face. He made sure to aim in her direction without hitting her. He pulled the trigger and he almost flinched himself at the loud bang. The woman passed out from fear. He made sure to tie her up with the cords from the telephone in the room. Alan ran back up the stairs to see what happened. “What the hell happened in here!?” he asked in a panic. Damien led him to the room and explained what happened. Alan pat him on his shoulder. “Great idea. For now we should switch positions. You have to fill your bags anyway. Rubble Boy is almost ready with his work for us to leave. I’ll send Toxic Wave down in a couple minutes”.

Damien nodded and went through the gate and down to the safe room. Rubble Boy had both of his hands on the floor and Jesse was filling his bags. Two bags were already filled with money on the outside of the safe. He stepped into the safe and started filling his bags with money as well. Halfway through filling the second bag, Leon came down. He hurried over to fill his bags with a smile on his face. After about 7 minutes all but two bags were filled. Rubble Boy slumped over with a satisfied smile on his face. “The hole is ready. We just need to break through the floor. I’m so tired right now” he said almost sleepily. “Let’s fill the last two bags before we do all that. Bodybag, go get Thunderclap” Jesse decided. Damien nodded and rushed upstairs to get him. So far so good as far as he was concerned.

Damien saw it was easy to flag down Alan from the gate. Alan came over and was told the situation. He smiled and said “Call me when you are ready to move”. Damien nodded and back towards the safe room. Jesse asked where his brother was. Damien told him and Jesse just sucked his teeth. “I wanted you to get him because we are ready know. Forget it. I’ll go get him myself” he said. He went upstairs and within 2 minutes came back down with Alan. Jesse stood over the hole. He squatted down into a power stance. He raised his hands to his chest and closed his eyes. The sound of crackling static could be heard steadily getting louder. Eventually sparks could be seen tracing lines around his body. The lights began to flicker on and off. Jesse began to yell again. Then he thrust out his arms with a shout and a long streak of lightning streamed out from his hands hitting the tiles and breaking through the floor. The thick layer of gray concrete gave way to a large hole 10 feet across with a 20 foot drop.


	5. Chapter 5

Jesse’s knees buckled and Alan caught him. He looked just as exhausted as Rubbleboy. Alan looked at the group proudly. “This has been a great success. We just need to take the loot down the hole and get to the extraction point”. He threw the bags down the hole. Then he tossed in the pickaxe and the tube of sand. “I’ll go first. Send Rubbleboy down next so I can catch him when I say so”. He smirked before shifting into sand and spilling down the hole. After 3 minutes he called up for Rubbleboy. Damien helped him to his feet and he jumped down. “Caught him” was the reply from below. Damien went next. He jumped down the hole and landed flat footed on his feet. He could feel the sharp pain and hear the loud crack of both his legs snapping like dry twigs.

The sewer the were in smelled awful. He almost fell into the dirty brown water. Alan was able to pull him away at the last minute. He laid him down on the ground away from the water. Alan was naked again. It didn’t make sense to put on the dirty clothes and they were all going to travel underground to the extraction point. His body was fit and toned. “Like what you see, Bodybag?” he asked, seeing his gaze wander on his body. Damien looked away from him and said that he was okay. By that point his legs were already healed, so he stood up and stretched them out until he felt confident. “Toxic Wave, I’ll catch you. Jump down” he said. He heard a whoop from above and he moved in position to catch his friend. He was able to catch him but the weight sent them both crashing to the floor. Leon smiled and said “I really enjoyed that trust fall we just did”. Damien chuckled and helped him get up.

Jesse was the last one to go. He fell into Alan’s arms on near command. Alan had to bend his knees to absorb the impact but he was able to safely catch his brother. “Now that we’re all here, we have to move ahead to the extraction point”. He led the way for a good 10 minutes through the putrid stench and the heavy burdens on their shoulders. It was then that they came up on a ladder to a manhole. Alan set his bags down and climbed the ladder. He shifted the manhole cover and looked around. He went back down the ladder and picked up a bag. He brought them up one at a time. Then he took Rubbleboy’s bags up. He called down to the rest saying. “I’ll be waiting for you in the van”. Leon went up twice and went to the fan. Rubble Boy went next up the ladder to the van. Jesse was still a bit winded from the strain of using his powers. He let Damien go ahead and he brought up one bag before coming down for the second one. Jesse was leaning against the wall. “Go up the ladder before you pass out. I’ll handle the rest” Damien said. Jesse cracked a tired smile before saying “I guess you were useful after all”. He then slowly made his way up.

Damien was able to take the second bag filled with loot up no problem. The third bag of money was a big hassle to move. The fourth bag was agony to lift up the ladder. It was so cool that Leon was there to help pull the bag up and reached a hand out to Damien to help him out of the sewer. He made his way to the van while Leon replaced the manhole cover. When they were all in the van, the driver drove all the way back to the bar. They went inside while the driver took the van to destroy it. Everyone else had to lay low after a few days to make sure that they were in the clear. News coverage those days were saturated with stories about them on every channel. The Shaban Brothers were extremely with the coverage. They were described as very devious, dangerous and crafty. Rubbleboy, who we learned was named Francis, really enjoyed the artist representations of all them.   
Even Damien was pleased with himself. When it was time to divide the money, he liked looking at his cut and counting it by himself. It was about Tuesday when the news cycle had moved on from the robbery. Alan told them it would be good to good to their own homes the next days. He was confident and was already planning their next appearance. Damien put his foot down and told them that he was out. “Leon’s out too. We just needed the one job to save my mom”. Leon look conflicted but sided with Damien. Jesse was pissed while Alan just shook his head. He had guessed this would happen.

Damien went to the bathroom. As he passed by the mirror over the sink, his reflection caught his attention. His blue eyes were heavy with bags under them. His shoulder length black hair was getting greasy. His freckles were spread along his nose and cheeks and extended down to his shoulders and back. His normally rosy complexion was getting a bit paler due to the stress of the robbery and being in hiding. He splashed water on his face to clear his head. Leon came in looking concerned for his friend. Leon’s reflection behind his gave him some concern. His dirty blond hair was an untamed mass of curls that made him look boyish yet cute. His jade green eyes were searching for what was wrong with him. Damien could see and feel him rest a tanned hand on his shoulder for comfort. “Are you constipated or something?” he asked. Damien laughed out loud, knowing that whatever happened, he could count on Leon being his usual dumb self. He told Leon that he was not and left the bathroom.

Wednesday, Leon and Damien were both dragging two suitcases behind them. One had their money and the other had three sets of their outfits. They were walking home when Leon turned to him and said “You don’t want to be a villain anymore? It looked like we were doing great. We could always go back if we wanted”. Damien looked at him and said “Leon, didn’t you see every movie that is popular? The bad guy always lose in the end”. Leon blushed and looked away. “I guess I got carried away” he said. Damien could hear the disappointment in his voice. Damien let it go as they approached the house. “We each give a hundred thousand and keep the rest. If she asks say we won it gambling at the concert arena” he coached as he was opening the door for them. Leon nodded. When they were inside they saw his mom asleep in the living room, the t.v still on. Damien took the money cases and took the money he said he was taking and put it on the coffee table in front of her. He turned off the t.v and turned on the lights. His mom stirred awake and sat up looking at the boys. She smiled until she noticed the money. 

Leon jumped up to hug her and said “Mrs. A we got the money for your medicine. Use it so you can get good enough to stay with us another 50 years”. Damien also kissed her on the cheek and forehead. His mom looked at them closely and then the money. She was not smiling. It looked like she was in pain. “Did this money came from hurting other people?” she asked. They furiously shook their heads no. She sighed and focused on Leon. She slowly asked him “Did this money come from selling your bodies?”. Leon grabbed her hands and said “No! Mrs. A, we won it gambling. You have to believe us. Please use the money”. She looked into his eyes. “I know when you boys are lying. You don’t have enough money or skills to win this much money the right way. I only needed to ask those two questions. If someone was hurt I wouldn’t take it. If it came from selling yourselves, I would’ve taken it immediately” she said.

She got up and was going to leave the room when she turned around. “I have to think about this. Give me some time”. She left and went upstairs, leaving the boys to themselves. The time needed was until it was time for Damien to leave. She had decided to use the money to get the medicine and treatment she needed. She had sent Leon up with him on the bus because “I don’t think this state is safe for a dumb bank robber like him. Keep yourselves out of trouble and stay away from crime”. They boys were surprised that she figured them out. As they were getting on the bus, Francis walked up to them with a smile. “Alan heard that Leon was going so he sent me to go with you so you don’t die out there”. He had his bags on him and he put them in the undercarriage of the bus. As the bus pulled off e could not help to think about what would happen to the three of them and how he would hide this as he went back to school. “It’s like we are going to your school together” Leon said in the seat next to him. Damien took comfort in that as he dozed off on the trip.  
When they got off the bus, they made their way on campus. Leon and Francis both helped him move into his new dorm room. They met his roommate as they were putting his clothes in the drawer and Damien felt that he was a nice guy. After that the three of them left to find a place to live for Leon and Francis. They were able to find an inn that took cash no questions asked. “Use here as a place to stay until you find a real place to live” Damien told them. They walked around after they checked their room to see the sights of the area. There was a coffee shop, a park, a drugstore, and a public library. Damien had been to these places before, but he felt a certain swell of pride telling them about the area and sharing stories of his time there. They looked very engaged in the stories and they responded very well.

At the end of the day he had to leave them and return to his campus. They waved goodbye from the balcony of their room. Damien waved back as he turned and walked down the road. Once he got to the campus, he headed straight for the dining hall. He had a meal plan and he was very happy to see they were serving beef wellington and the salad bar was fully stocked. He had a great time eating his food and then went to his room. When he got there, his roommate was not there. Damien sat on his bed and called his mom. She answered on the second ring and asked if anything happened. “I just wanted to tell you we got settled in and I wanted to hear from you”. She said “I saw you this morning. You can’t miss me yet. Get a good night’s sleep. I think classes start tomorrow for you right”. Damien wished his mom a good night and hung up the phone. He then got under the cover and went to sleep.


End file.
